2014 AD100: Toshiko Mori Architect

Modernist forms are poetically recast by Toshiko Mori, whose Manhattan-based practice encompasses both institutional structures and an array of conceptually driven houses. “We observe carefully, paying close attention to site, environment, and program,” says Mori. The architect is noted for her use of innovative materials, mindful sequencing of rooms, and clever manipulation of natural light. For an upstate New York home for art dealer Sean Kelly, she devised an assemblage of volumes clad alternately in floor-to-ceiling glass and panels of aluminum foam. A nearby compound of her design, meanwhile, boldly defies convention by distilling living spaces into five distinct pavilions connected by concrete walkways. Upcoming projects include a waterfront Maine retreat for Tomas Maier, the creative director of Bottega Veneta. tmarch.com